


Discovering

by TGIntentX



Series: Honesty Is All I Need From You [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Police, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Developing Friendships, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 22:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17333969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TGIntentX/pseuds/TGIntentX
Summary: To Tim, Jason is someone that his parents would have warned him about. All the more reason to prove his worth.





	Discovering

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Let's kick off the new year with a new fic. Apologies for the delay, 2018 has been a recovery period for 2017.

Timothy Drake hummed a tune, walking to Dick’s apartment. School had a holiday so he planned to spend his free time with his big brother/idol person for the duration until school starts again.

He takes out the key that Dick gave. He struggles to unlock the door as his hands are holding his duffel bag and dinner that he bought for the both of them. When he unlocked the door, he was in for a big surprise.

“Are you pointing a gun at me?”

Jason Todd has his whole body lounging on the sofa, his socked feet propped up at the other end. He looks just as surprised as he is, the cigarette that was in hanging on his mouth dropped to the floor.

Jason quickly sat up straight, stuffing his gun away as though he didn’t do anything embarrassing. “Timbo! Didn’t know you was coming. Is that Big Belly Burger I see? Good timing.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, going to the kitchen to put down his dinner. “I was gonna stay over until school holiday was over. What are you doing here?”

“Babysitting.”

“Babysitting?”

Jason pointed at Damian’s door. “Dick had to go to Blüdhaven so he asked me to watch over Damian until he comes back. I just need to make sure demon brat is fed, showered, and not dead. Piece of cake.”

Tim goes over to Damian’s door, opening it a small gap. Damian isn't in his room but his window was left opened. “But he's not even here.”

Jason shrugged. “As long as he comes back the next day, I don’t care.”

Tim blinks at the nonchalant statement. “Well I guess I’ll have to leave.” He moves back to the kitchen to take his stuff. “I'll see you later.”

“Hold up hold up.” Jason makes a stopping motion with his hands. “No one said you have to leave. You could stay here until Dick comes back which is in a day or two. Then you can do whatever you guys planned.”

Tim gave Jason a questioning look, dropping his duffel by the coffee table and goes over to the sofa. He was disappointed that he wasn’t able to see Dick but hopefully this couldn’t be so bad. He takes out his phone to check for messages, found Dick’s recent unread text saying that he won’t be able to make it for their hangout and hoped to take a rain check.

He watches Jason pick up the cigarette he dropped earlier, going over to the fire escape and squashing the ashes out. Tim has never been alone with Jason before. Usually Dick is always there to act as a medium. Sometimes Stephanie would hang out with them and Jason would be chatting up with her like old friends. There's just something about Jason that makes him feel unease.

Jason moves over to the kitchen to help himself to the food that Tim brought. ”You can have Dick’s bed. I’m gonna be busy tonight with a case I’m working on. Bullock assigned me to a case from the other division knowing full well just to piss me off.”

Tim raises an eyebrow. “Is that allowed? To bring your work home with you?”

“Not like I care.” Jason said, unwrapping a burger he picked up. “When there's no cops around, anything is legal.”

“...Aren't you a cop?”

“Same rules applied.”

Tim moves closer to the coffee table to look over the case folders spread out. Pictures and post-it notes are paper clipped or stuck on messily. It got Tim interested seeing police work up close. “You need any help?”

Jason gave a considering look at the folders, then at Tim just standing there. “Sure. Take a crack at it.”

Tim picks up one of the folders, studying the information. He goes through them mechanically while Jason takes one of the hamburger Tim had brought. Tim made some notes while reading through the case files. By the time that he’s done, Jason is starting on his second hamburger while munching on his fries.

“I think I may have found something but I don’t know if you got it,” Tim shuffles the papers in. “I took a look at the list of stolen cars based on characteristics; model, specs, license owners, etc.. There doesn’t seem like a pattern of a sort. All of them are either old or the newest model. It's disconcerting they could get past the newer car’s security feature.”

Jason shrugged. “It’s not exactly hard to do if they have the right equipment. With technology advanced as it is, stealing a BMW while it's still in the garage without breaking anything or doing something complicated is now a piece of cake.”

Tim looks up excited. “Oh! I saw that video. Did you think your bad guy is using the same thing they're doing?”

“Possibly but why bother with old cars if they can just steal the new ones easier? Old cars can be harvested for parts. Rims, batteries, pipe, etc.. but it takes too much time and effort.”

“Are you sure all these cars are stolen by the same guy?

“If I were to be honest, it would be the same group with the same people. They did this like a pro. I had already checked the used car dealerships and junkyards but I got nothing.”

Tim lets out a frustrated noise at the lack of progress. “Now I can see why you're having trouble with it.”

“It happens to the best of us.” Jason meandered his way over to Tim with a bag of Big Belly Burger. He plops down right next to Tim, fishing out fries from the bottom of the bag. “It's not like all we have to do is look at the evidence and connect the dots immediately. Or come up a hunch when we're really frustrated. Nah, sometimes all of it just leaves it up to intuition and luck.”

He offers the bag of fires to Tim who takes it without a second thought. “I thought you'd be angry or something. Sorry if I couldn't find anything.”

Jason shakes his head. “Don't be sorry, it's not your problem,” he said. “I'm only angry because I couldn't find anything on this guy, he's too smart and resourceful.”

“Probably a pro if he's doing this for years,” Tim listed while munching on his fries. “Knows the game really well so he knows the ins and outs. Resourceful to employ people to do his dirty work and hold all these cars somewhere. New on the block because it looks like he isn't afraid of getting caught.”

“But not as new if this guy doesn't like to waste old parts,” Jason added. A gleam in his eye shown, knowing he got an idea. Flipping open his laptop, he plugged in his telecom usb waiting for it to load.

Loading complete Jason pulls up the GCPD database, typing out what he needs to find. Just as Tim decided to peer over to look at what Jason had been doing, he was forced out of the way before he could get hit by Jason's arm.

“Timbo, you are a genius,” Jason shuts his laptop and organizes his notes in an orderly pile. “I can't believe I didn't see it before.”

Tim's eyes follow Jason moving around the apartment, getting his stuff. “Where are you going?”

“I got a lead, had to go after it,” Jason puts on his coat, going to the door. “Don’t know when I’ll be back so don’t wait up for me. Bye!”

Jason left the apartment but not before grabbing a burger from the Big Belly Burger bag, leaving Tim alone in the apartment that's not really his. For a moment, Tim didn't move, didn't know what just happened or what he should do.

Finally decided, Tim gets up and goes to the kitchen for his burger. He frowned when he finds that the bag is empty. Jason had ate his portion.

But it's not a total lost, he still has his drink and some fries leftover. Minutes passed that felt like hours, Tim ate his food in a lazy manner on the sofa bored out of his mind. His eyes strayed to Jason's laptop and notes on the coffee table.

With the last of his fries finished, Tim gave into temptation and opened the laptop. The screen reactivates showing it is password protected.

Tim smirks. “Interesting.”

 

* * *

 

He's never been in this side of Gotham before. Tim glances out the corner of his eye for what seems the fifth time since he got here. Boarded up bodegas, litter floating around the gray pavement, suspicious characters giving him the side-eye. The further he walk, the less people there are. Just walking one block from the train station, he's starting to regret his decision of going after Jason. This is not something he would have normally done.

 _If I get jumped here, nobody would find my body._ Tim tightly gripped his phone in his pocket. Hopefully his phone is hard enough to be a weapon to defend himself. _Keep your head down, don't look at anyone in the eye. The place is just 4 blocks away. Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep wal–_

A hand clamped down on Tim's shoulder, causing Tim to instinctively strike out with his phone. His wrist was caught and was turned around to look at his would–be assailant.

Tim blinked up at the familiar face. “Jason?”

Jason lets go of Tim's wrist, looking down at the boy with a stern expression. “What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous it is?”

“How did you even know it was me?” Tim redirects the question. “You came from behind.”

“I recognize your backpack, kid,” Jason gestures at the crisscross design. “And your jacket. I recognized it enough times to pick you out from a crowd. I want to know what the hell are you doing here.”

Tim shifts uneasily under Jason's gaze. “I want to help.”

“You already did, back at the apartment.”

“I want to be involved,” Tim had quietly said. “I can help. I know what's going on so please...”

He couldn't look at Jason in the eye, feeling nervous anticipation crawling through his veins. The long sleeves of his jacket hides his hands wringing his silly bandz nervously. Even with the fabric covering his wrists, Jason could clearly see the little movements.

“Tim, listen to me,” Jason's voice takes a serious tone. “This is not a game. This is not one of those cop shows that you watch on TV. This is real and it is nothing that you would ever know. I will not be held responsible for your safety if you stick around so I am going to walk you back to the train station and you can go back to Dick's apartment from there. Are we clear?”

Tim felt like he is losing the battle when Jason's hand is placed on his shoulder to direct him back. If he didn't do something soon-

“I know who you're after and I know where it is!”

It made Jason stop in his tracks. “Do you?”

“The guy you're after,” Tim started. “Bixby Rhodes aka Roadrunner. He runs an extremely high–end car dealership here on the northern tip of Gotham selling some of the most expensive customized cars in the world. Word on the street is that in just last year, he's become one the city's premier gun smugglers, hiding the client's weapons in custom-ordered luxury cars. He's not exactly new because he has a priors of boosting cars but he's a new face on the street in that particular business.”

Tim turned around to face Jason properly and continued. “The reason we are heading to his junkyard instead of his fancy dealership is because of disposed evidence. The cars he had stolen and harvested for parts, the evidence would go to junkyard to be crushed and disposed. But the hull and the model type of cars would still be identifiable.”

It felt like Tim had said all of this in one breath as he was short on breath when he finished. His pleading eyes looked up at Jason's hoping that he won't be turned away this time. How was he able to understand and grasp so much of the situation in the short amount of time and information if he wasn't ready for it.

“Do you know what the other reason is for choosing this place?” Jason asked. “It's the least guarded.”

Jason closes his eyes as though he is considering Tim's input. It felt like an eternity before he opened his eyes again. His hardened gaze have relaxed a little but there's still an edge to it but finally he lets out a sigh “It'll take too long walking you to the train and back. You're to stick close to me and not wander off. If you see the first signs of trouble, you make a break for it. This is a reconnaissance.”

Jason starts walking away with Tim following behind him. That is all the confirmation Tim needs that Jason allows him to come.

They make their way through the junkyard as quietly and sneakily as they possibly can; avoiding the lights, cameras, and guards. Stacks of crushed cars are piled high while a controller crusher machine overlooks at a distance. The unfamiliar possible hostile surroundings and the dark had Tim nervous gulp.

“Wanna go back?”

Tim shakes his head. Even though this place is scary, he does not want to admit defeat.

They look through the stacked cars carefully, trying to find the listed models of stolen cars. They managed to find some, only to be disproved when it's not the right one. It all feels hopeless, that Tim can't help but wonder if its all just one big dead end.

“This is not working,” Jason turns his phone's flashlight off. “We could go through a hundred of these in one night but we wouldn't be able to find the exact cars. There's just too many and it's just too dark.”

“Maybe you can come back here in the morning,” Tim suggested.

Jason snorted. “By the time I get a warrant to search this place, they would have completely destroyed the evidence. Even getting rid of the hull, shipping it to Bl _ü_ dhaven or something.”

Sounds of the guards had the pair startled, moving away and hiding from their presence. Even though they had moved away, the guards are getting closer and closer. Tim and Jason had moved back quietly and quickly as they possibly can when Tim had misstep.

The loud sound of a discarded pipe had echoed causing the two guards to shine their flashlight at their direction. “Hey!”

The well aware guards had Tim and Jason make a break for it. They ran in the maze of stacked cars with the guards quickly approaching behind them. Somewhere along the chaos, they had split up and lost the other.

“Jason?!” Tim hissed quietly, finding himself alone in the maze. “Jason?! Where are you?”

The guard's light shining at the floor around the corner had Tim hide in one of the cars. He held his breath and counted, listening closely to the sound of the guards. Hearing them leave, Tim slowly peered out, letting a quiet breath out in relief.

Finally able to catch his breath, Tim starts to think of his next move. Following Jason's instructions he should get out while he can and call for help. A part of him thinks that Jason wouldn't be able to find him if he gets out. A stupider suggestion would be that if he stays where he is, even though Jason might find him, the guards would find him as well.

Tim rested his head on the dashboard and groaned at his dilemma. He closes his eyes to gather his nerves, controlled his breathing until its a steady pace. In and out. Finally making a decision, he opened his eyes, ready.

Tim gets out of the car slowly and carefully. He looks around him, still doesn't know where he is. The only thing that seems familiar is the controller that overlooks over the maze. It doesn't seem that far away that it gives Tim an idea.

He makes his way toward the controller, avoiding the guards and the cameras and lights. He made it to the steps, plastering himself to the side where the cameras don't have a view of him. There aren't any guards on the way up, out in the maze looking for the intruders.

Right by the door, Tim carefully toed it open. An unlit foreman's office in view of the whole junkyard. Important looking documents and a computer laid on the desk beckoning to Tim. Quickly closing the door, Tim accessed the computer simultaneously looking over at the documents. His eyes widened. Stuffing the evidence into his backpack, Tim was about to leave when he heard a loud mechanical sound coming from outside.

Going over to the window, Tim could see the floor of the junkyard opened, revealing lines of cars beneath it. Just as quickly as it opened, it shut just as fast but the mechanical sound continues.

Having a bad feeling about this, it doesn't sit right with Tim. Making sure the coast was clear, Tim left the office just as quietly as he had came. Making his escape, he could hear a conversation inside the control room.

“You know Hollis, glancing at the lot I think it's possible we over-ordered this month. What do you think?

“Definitely, Mr. Rhodes.”

“All right then. Lets reduce our inventory, start the crusher.”

Tim had froze up, tensed that he's right there next to the criminal they were looking for. And with the way they were talking sounds like a Bond villain. That would mean Jason had fallen into their trap and was about to be crushed very soon.

He assess the room carefully, seeing only two people in the room, one of them Bixby Rhodes. The are in front of the criminals along with the CCTV screens above them. Long pipes piled next to the wall, possible weapons to use.

Tim closes his eyes to gather his nerves, controlled his breathing until its at a steady pace. Picking up a pipe, he soundlessly made his way behind the criminals. His hand gripping on the pipe tremble, raised ready to strike. He brought it down to strike –

“Well look hello there...”

It had escape his notice that there might be a third person in the room, a bodyguard for the criminal. His wrists was grabbed from above, forcing Tim to drop his weapon. Rhodes and his associate turns around to face their intruder.

“I don't think we've introduced,” Rhodes smirked. “Are you with the detective? Because if you were, he might be a little bit squished right about now.”

“What's it to you?” Tim spits out, struggling under the guard's grip.

Rhodes chuckled. “Looks like this punk has got a bit of spunk. Reminds me of myself back in the days. Back when we were teenagers, we used to run this scam for the GCPD guy named Flass. Whenever a real fancy car drove through our neighborhood – granted, this wasn't often, but still a car like something Bruce Wayne or Mayor Hady would drive... what we'd do is we'd plant some goodies inside. A kilo, two. Enough that when Detective Flass busted him, the poor sap would be sure to end up losing his car. Which was the whole point, you see, because then the car – the beautiful car would go to police auction, where it'd go on the block for a fraction of what it was worth.”

Tim snarled at the criminals. This man can talk and distracting him, he needs to save Jason now.

“Flass and his buddies, well, they happened to be front row every time,” Rhodes continued. “Sure, the cops busted us a few times, we got run through downtown – but before long, we were back at it. It was a fantastic business... fantastic. That is until we tried to branch out, set up shop in Metropolis. The boy in blue there actually put the fear of God in me so here we all are, back to where we all started.”

“Which brings us to where we are now,” Rhodes eyes flickered to the weapon Tim had tried to use earlier, picking it up and testing its weight. “You're either with that detective or you trying to steal one of my cars. Either way, you're ass is gonna.”

And just as he said that, a loud explosion came from the crusher along with a crushed up car flying out of it. The explosion caught everyone in surprise, giving Tim an enough opportunity to break free. He elbowed the guard in the nose stunning him, with the momentum of his arm pulled back and punches Rhodes in the same place disabling him.

In his hurry to escape, Tim didn't forget the third man. With his small stature, he was able to dodge the man's outstretched arms and ran out the door as fast as he can. He didn't look back, he didn't know where to go. All he knows is that he got to get out of here.

Running down three steps at a time, Tim hit the ground running. A lot of noise with yelling, shouting, hitting, etc. All of it feels like a vacuum sound-scape as nothing else matters other than escaping.

“Hey there, Timbo. Where've you been?”

And just his voice was enough to bring Tim back to reality as Jason runs beside him. The background noise became audible again along with gunshots ringing out. But for Tim it doesn't seem like he cares, all he could do is give Jason a shaky smile as they ran in the night.

 

* * *

 

They found themselves under the bridge catching their breath, watching the scene unfold. The junkyard became a crime scene with cops warding the surrounding area. Tim was putting the last band-aid on his arm, hissing when his cut stings. A few feet away, Jason is talking on his phone. There was yelling and cursing involved meaning it wasn't a pleasant conversation.

Call ended, Jason limped over to Tim sitting on a bench, groaning loudly when he finally sat down. “Guess what bullshit the commish had fed me. Said I was trespassing and anything even remotely solid was destroyed in that behemoth of a crusher. Which is to say Bixby Rhodes will likely be back on the streets in a few days.”

Tim made a sympathetic noise. “What happened to your leg?”

“Old injury,” Jason lifted his leg, ankle propped on his knee. “May have twisted it wrong when we were running. It got aggravated but I'm fine.” He puts his leg down. “Just that with Rhodes getting away scott-free and the amount of paperwork waiting for me back at HQ, it's gonna be a real shitty week.”

“Well... not really.”

Grinning at Jason's questioning look, Tim reached into his backpack pulling out evidence he retrieved from the junkyard. “For criminals, these guys are highly organized. Listed all of the car models stolen, buyers and suppliers accounts, and transaction dates from when he probably shipped his guns with the cars.” Handing it over to Jason. “Might be more in there and I'm sure with your detective skills you could do something about it.”

Jason's eyes widened, scanning through the documents quickly. “ _This_ is definitely gonna ruin his week.” Finished scanning, with a large grin Jason bear hugged Tim. “Babybird, you are freakin' amazing!”

“I-it was nothing.” Tim's cheeks colored in Jason's grasped. “I just got lucky. I went to that giant building there when I couldn't find you and there was this office – ”

“Woah wait. Are you okay?” He pulled away, holding Tim at arms-length as he assessed him. “You were there what if –”

“I'm fine. Met the guy you were chasing, broke his nose maybe,” Tim points at the cut on his arm. “This was actually from when we were running away. Didn't know about it until it started itching.”

Jason lets go, burying his face in his hands and groaned. When he collected himself, he looks up at Tim whose biting at his bottom lip. “Tim, what you just did is reckless and dangerous. You could've been killed or worse. A-and I couldn't –”

Jason couldn't finish what he was going to say, looking away with his fists clenching and unclenching by his knees. The feeling was mutual with Tim looking down and staring at his own wrists. Bruises shaped as a large hand-print on both of his wrists, barely blocked by silly bandz. His wrists are so small to begin with, only wondering if it was that easy and so close to have been broken with a snap.

“I-I'm sorry.” Tim tugs his sleeves to cover the bruises the best that it can. “We got separated a-and I thought I can find you if I went up there. Then I saw an opportunity...”

Tim knows he's just stammering excuses, recounting what had happened. Anything to justify what he did was out of the question dangerous. But it was also a way of letting his emotions get to him. The event from before finally caught up to him and it suddenly feels too much.

He was interrupted when Jason tugs him close, tucking Tim's head under his chin. For a moment he stopped, his breath hitched in mid-speech, looking nervously up at Jason.

Jason breathes through his nose deeply, arm secured around Tim. “How are you feeling?”

Tim's breathing slowly evens out, Jason's presence is comforting enough to bring him back. “I'm fine.”

It's not the truth but a lie that needs to be heard for his own sake. He'll get better. Eventually.

Jason sighed. “Look, I’m not good with kids. Especially middle schoolers –“

“I’m not in middle school.”

“But I think you’re pretty okay. You don't need to prove anything. You’re not as irritable as Damian and I think that counts in my book.”

Tim blinked at the compliment, looking away. He never expected that from Jason. He had always viewed Jason cautiously. His rough, crass behavior is polar opposite to Dick’s. But he knows that Jason is good man who cares about the people he's close to.

“Don’t worry,” Tim looks up to shoot Jason a small smile. “I can brush my teeth without being told and go to bed at a decent time.”

Jason chuckles, re-adjust the his hold so they are now sitting together side by side. “That's a plus one in my book. Just so you know, you can come to me or Dick about anything.”

Tim lets out a small smile. “Thanks Jason.”

Jason nodded. “Good. That being said; I'd feel a little bit better if you learn to defend yourself. Starting two days from now we're gonna be working your ass off.”

“What?! You kidding! I'm on my break man.”

“Deadass. Be glad you're getting free lessons from me cuz I don't come cheap. Demon brat can take you on in 30 seconds – then again that boy made a couple of grown man cry so that's not a fair comparison. Just don't be a little shit and it won't be as bad as you might think.”

“I make no promises.”

They both leaned back on the bench, just enjoying the moment. Not worry about the criminal they just caught or the report waiting to be written. Not worry about the close call just minutes before or the workout to look forward to in a few days time. Just sitting there with someone that he can depend on, who can bring him back.

“There's something that's been bugging me for a while; how are we gonna tell Dick about this?”

“...damn.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic is actually a distraction from writing the final fic for this series. Still trying to work out the kinks but I do promise it will be published within this year (maybe late spring/summer, don't hold me to it). 
> 
> Also this fic is actually a pilot for a new spin-off series. Same universe and characters but more of a variety. Did a little re-ordering but nothing much to take into consideration. See you next time!


End file.
